BEST SELFIE DRONES

Thanks to social media it is the age of the selfie so of course it is only right that people want to take aerial selfies – find out how best to do so with our best selfie drone round up.

8 Best Selfie Drones In 2018

It is hard to think what the world looked like before selfies – in fact, selfies have become so ingrained in our everyday life that it is almost impossible to imagine there was once a time before them. Like all things though, social culture evolves – and as far as selfies are concerned they are going up rather than down. We don’t mean up in terms of popularity, we mean up in terms of altitude.

It didn’t take long for the ‘dronie’ to be born – and if you are looking for a drone to give you the perfect selfie then don’t go anywhere – as we have 8 of the best selfie drones for you in our full roundup below…

What Is A Dronie?

A ‘dronie’ is a selfie taken from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), most commonly referred to as a drone. It combines the word selfie and drone to create a new term and a completely new type of drone.

What Is A Selfie Drone?

A selfie drone is one that is well geared towards taking selfies (self portrait pictures using a camera). There are plenty of existing drones that are well equipped to carry out these types of shots and such is the popularity of this type of aerial shot, many UAV’s are now being marketed solely as selfie drones. Needless to say, the camera quality is going to be pretty important, but you should also take in to consideration how easily your pics can be shared using your smartphone or over social media.

Of course, there is more to a drone than a dronie, so we will be taking in to account the all-round package when compiling our top selfie drones of 2018. That being said, if you want a quadcopter that is purely going to be used to take pics of you and your mates then you probably don’t want to spend a small fortune.

Luckily for you, we have reviewed a range so you have the choice of everything from the budget dronies to the high end aerial selfie machines!

Why Would You Want A Selfie Drone?

Selfie drones have multiple uses – but here are some of the key reasons people might want one:

Great for capturing larger groups – being able to take the image from further away and at height will help you to capture everyone in a larger group and the elevation will mean everyone can be seen – no hiding at the back!

Perfect for birthday parties and social events – impress your guests by taking some of the best selfies they have ever seen

Great for on the move – Some drones are actually very lightweight and portable these days and are ideal for taking selfies on the go

Perfect Pictures – There is certainly an art to capturing the perfect selfie but with a drone it is so much easier and creates much more natural looking photographs

Selfie Drones – The Round Up

Now that you are fully versed on what selfie drones are and why you might want one, let’s take a look at the best options on the market right now.

1. DJI Spark – Best Overall For Selfies

When the DJI Spark first launched it pretty much dubbed itself a drone for taking selfies – and it was this drone that pretty much set the standard for what has now become a much more crowded market place. Despite the competition, this drone from DJI is still up there with the best and whilst it is one of the pricier options on this list, it is now more affordable than ever before at around £400.

Packed with a 12MP front facing camera that can also take video in 1080p HD, the Spark has some of the best software features of any of those featured in this round-up. The software is backed up by some pretty impressive hardware too with a mechanical gimbal among our favourite features which allows for super smooth video and super crisp selfies.

16 minutes of battery life is about as good as it gets at this price point and that is plenty for taking those party snaps in the garden. The Spark works well indoors and outdoors and has a range of autonomous flight controls including one touch return to home, follow me mode and even facial recognition.

You can control the Spark from your smartphone but the reason this tops our list of selfie drones is the gesture control function. You can use a range of different gestures to control the position and height of the drone as well as command it to take that all important picture.

There is much more to the Spark than just taking selfies but if you want the ultimate selfie drone and don’t need the added expense of paying for 4K video then this is probably the best of the bunch.

2. RC Rabing Selfie – Best Affordable

If you need to balance budget with specs then the RC Rabing Selfie-Drone is a top option. At around a fifth of the price of the Spark, the Rabing model also features gesture control (although not quite as sophisticated) to allow you to capture the all important selfie shots. The image quality is not quite on a par but the 2MP camera performs pretty well in day light and other well lit conditions.

To control this drone using gestures you give it the v sign (we are not joking) to make it take a picture. As well as this feature, the RC Rabing drone has an excellent altitude hold function which allows for very steady shots, it has two different speed settings, one key take off and landing and plenty of other nifty little features to keep you entertained.

A battery life of around 8-10 minutes is very impressive given the cost of the drone. The Rabing is controlled using your smartphone and the Rabing app and you can access your pics and videos directly from your smartphone which makes them super easy to share straight to social media.

3. JJRC H37 Elfie – Best Budget Selfie Drone

If you are looking for the cheapest selfie drone then the JJRC H37 is by far the best option. Not only is this one of the cheapest drones overall, it actually performs rather impressively and is particularly handy at taking selfies. A 2MP 720p HD camera sits on board the H37’s 13.5cm long unfolded body but whats makes this drone particularly impressive is that it can be controlled by your smartphone or by the included controller.

The controller for the Elfie drone allows you to use gestures to control the flight and picture taking and is quite unlike any quadcopter controller we have seen before. Similar in design and feel to a Nintendo Wii controller, it recognises a series of movements and gestures you make with your hand to allow you to send your drone right, left, forwards or backwards. For more advanced movements you can use the smartphone app which also gives you a full FPV experience as the footage is transmitted to the phone.

Battery life for the Elfie is just 6-7 minutes but many packages come with an extra battery included so you should have plenty of time to take those selfies. Want to know more? Check out our full Elfie drone review.

4. Hover Camera Passport – Best Portable Dronie

One of the most innovative drones to launch to the consumer market in 2018 is without doubt the Hover Camera Passport drone. What makes this drone so special is that it flies itself and requires no controlling whatsoever. It uses facial recognition and tracking to follow you wherever you go and can reach high speeds so if you want to take fast paced video whilst running or cycling the Hover Camera can do that.

With 4K video and a 13MP camera, the Hover also uses gesture control to take pictures and videos and is actually incredibly easy to use. The autonomy of the drone also makes it one of the safest to use at high speeds and it also folds up to make it incredibly portable. Touching on safety, the propellers are completely covered by a sort of plastic grid – which again makes for a unique design but also makes it extremely safe and durable. Weighing in at less than 250g also means this drone will be exempt from UK drone registration laws coming in to play.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Hover Camera drone stores images locally on a flash drive so sharing them is not quite as instant as some of the other models on this page – the upside of this is that the video and image quality is excellent as the data writing speeds are faster than The Flash.

5. Eachine E56 – Best Covert Remote

The Eachine E56 is very similar to the H37 Elfie and actually ships with pretty much the exact same G-sensor remote. Perhaps one of the best features when it comes to selfies is the addition of beauty mode (as well as lots of other photography settings). Let’s face it, without beauty mode or the ability to add cute little puppy noses to our faces, there probably would be half the amount of selfies in the world today… so the fact that Eachine have added this in to their app is a nice touch.

The modular battery that ships with the Eachine E56 will give you around 7 minutes of flight time but again it is not uncommon to find a package that comes with two batteries. Electronic stabilisation and the altitude hold feature allows for some pretty steady performance that will provide you with some crisp selfies from the 2MP camera.

6. Wingsland S6 – Best Mid Price Range

Looking for higher quality selfie images without a ridiculously high price tag? The Wingsland S6 might be just the ticket. A 13MP camera that can take 4K video is what you get with the S6 so you will be taking selfies that are on par with or even better than your smart phone. A 3 axis EIS provides the necessary stability for the camera to produce some quite stunning shots.

In addition to the pretty hefty hardware loadout, you get some sensational software built in to the Wingsland S6. An infrared obstacle avoidance system can detect obstacles in all directions and will help to keep your drone airborne, whilst an array of intelligent photography options are also available. These include slow motion, time lapse, follow me and camera panning options – all of which can help to produce some pretty impressive selfie videos.

The S6 can be bought in a variety of different skins and as it is a less well know brand in the UK it is likely that you will have something quite unique – and something that will be the envy of all your friends as you start to create quality aerial selfies and post them all over your timeline.

7. Zerotech Dobby – Best For Voice Activation

The Zerotech Dobby could well have been heading this list of drones – in fact, the only reason it isn’t is that we have heard a few reports on the latest firmware update that seem to have caused issues – so be sure to do your own research if you do plan to buy this drone. That being said, the Dobby that we tested was exceptional and has some of the best features of all the drones on this page – especially when it comes to taking selfies.

The reason the Dobby is one of the best selfie drones is that it has been designed for exactly that purpose. It packs a 13MP camera that also takes high quality 1080p HD video but it can be controlled by tapping the drone, voice control and also gesture control.

With GPS it can track you and you can also set a path for the drone to take. It has some quite cool shot types to choose from too with a pull away shot that looks breathtaking.

Flight time is around 9 minutes and you can also sync it to your smartphone so you can see your footage live. Another plus for the Dobby is the portability of it thanks to its small and thin dimensions and folding arms. This actually is a drone that can be slipped in to a large pocket or small bag with relative ease.

If you can be sure that the firmware update issues have been resolved then this is a great choice.

8. DJI Mavic Air – Best High End Overall

We couldn’t resist adding the DJI Mavic Air to the list of great selfie drones and whilst it feels like we are doing the Mavic Air a disservice by adding it to this category it is actually a complement to the versatility of the drone.

Like many of the drones on this page, the Mavic Air is much more than just a selfie drone. With a 32MP camera and 21 minutes of flight time, it is easy to see that this UAV is streets ahead of the rest – but that does of course come at a premium. However, if you are looking for a selfie drone that is also capable of taking exceptional 4K video that is super smooth and you want it for other high altitude photography then the Mavic Air deserves your attention.

The Mavic Air takes still photos at 12MP in full HDR which provides the most stunning still photographs you can imagine and it can take full 360 panoramic shots in incredible 32MP detail. Back to selfies and this quadcopter has ‘smartcapture’ which is DJI’s most advanced gesture control for the best selfies you can take – and we mean it – these images are stunning!

If you can fork out over £700 and want more than just a great selfie then this is the best on the market in our opinion.

The DJI Spark is the best all rounder when it comes to taking selfies without breaking the bank. If you don’t need your pics to be quite so sharp or you don’t need such cutting edge gesture control then there are some excellent alternatives listed here. In truth, whichever one you pick you are on to a winner and you will be taking the best selfies of your social circle for sure.